Using bi-directional communications in a market-based resource allocation system

Abstract

Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for distributing a resource (such as electricity) using a resource allocation system. In one exemplary embodiment, a plurality of requests for electricity are received from a plurality of end-use consumers. The requests indicate a requested quantity of electricity and a consumer-requested index value indicative of a maximum price a respective end-use consumer will pay for the requested quantity of electricity. A plurality of offers for supplying electricity are received from a plurality of resource suppliers. The offers indicate an offered quantity of electricity and a supplier-requested index value indicative of a minimum price for which a respective supplier will produce the offered quantity of electricity. A dispatched index value is computed at which electricity is to be supplied based at least in part on the consumer-requested index values and the supplier-requested index values.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 587,009, filed Sep. 29, 2009, and entitled “USING BI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS IN A MARKET-BASED RESOURCE ALLOCATION SYSTEM,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 194,596, filed on Sep. 29, 2008, and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ELECTRIC POWER GRID CONTROL,” both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT[0002]This invention was made with Government support under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.FIELD[0003]This application relates generally to the field of power grid management and control.BACKGROUND[0004]The demand for electricity is expected to continue its historical growth trend far into the future. To meet this growth with traditional approaches would require adding power generation, transm...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method for distributing electricity in a resource allocation system using two-way communication. The system can manage the allocation of resources among multiple consumers and suppliers. The method involves determining a dispatched index value based on the supply and demand of resources, and using a double auction method to determine the allocation of resources. The system can also track the index value and debit the consumer's index balance accordingly. The method can be applied to a variety of electrical devices and can be repeated over time. The technical effect of the patent is to provide an efficient and effective way to allocate resources for electricity distribution.

Problems solved by technology

Indeed, the severity of the demand-response shortage can be seen when the feeder capacity was increased on Friday.

Images